Breast Cancer and the Environment

Our 25th Anniversary Panel of researchers on endocrine disrupting chemicals, held on October 26, 2016 in Montreal, inspired an audience of both young people and long-time members.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. Isabelle Plante, Dr. Bernard Robaire and Dr. Lise Parent for giving us the science in such clear and compelling terms.

We also thank our partners for this event: the David Suzuki Foundation, CINBIOSE, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Well-Being, Health, Society and Environment, and the Réseau des femmes en environnement.

Watch three powerpoint presentations with audio from the live presentations.

Once again, we would like to thank our sponsors for supporting this special occasion.

Below you will find links to articles and studies, including two of the most authoritative sources of information about the environmental connections to breast cancer and other health issues - The United Nations Environment Program and the World Health Organization's 2012 report State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Breast Cancer Fund's 2010 report State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment.

Read articles below for more information

Research on environmental links to breast cancer is marginalized

By Jennifer Beeman, Executive Director, BCAQc

Many breast cancer researchers agree that direct environmental exposures to carcinogens and toxic substances are the cause of breast cancer in at least 20% of cases. Only 5-10% of breast cancer is attributable to genetic causes. Yet environmental causes receive only 2per cent of breast cancer research funds and only 3-4% of those funds go to breast cancer prevention.

How Chemicals Affect Us

By NicholasKristof, The New York Times

Scientists are observing with increasing alarm that some very common hormone-mimicking chemicals can have grotesque effects.

A widely used herbicide acts as a female hormone and feminizes male animals in the wild. Thus male frogs can have female organs, and some male fish actually produce eggs. In a Florida lake contaminated by these chemicals, male alligators have tiny penises.

Gaps in environmental regulations: placing women’s health at risk

By Ellen Sweeney, PhD

Risk factors such as diet and exercise cannot account for the increased incidence in breast cancer, particularly in industrialized countries. Consequently, it is necessary to consider the environmental links to breast cancer, including mammary carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, through everyday exposures to industrial chemicals and toxic substances in consumer products.